ADRIAN — Fewer Lenawee County residents received help from the Michigan Department of Human Services in 2012. But social service agencies report they are being overwhelmed with aid requests.

The total number of DHS recipients fell by 439 from December 2011 to a total of 22,363 at the end of 2012. Most of the reduction was in food assistance, which saw a decline of 434 recipients to a total of 15,921 in December 2012.

The figures in monthly reports issued by DHS indicate an improving economy is putting some people back to work, said Tim Kelly, director of the agency’s Lenawee County office. Eligibility time limits that took effect a year ago have removed only 11 people in Lenawee County from the DHS roles, he said.

“I don’t think we’re looking at people leaving. I would say if anything it would be a little bit of an improved economy,” Kelly said.

The county’s jobless rate improved from 10.9 percent for 2011 to an 8.8 percent annual rate for 2012, according to the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget. The number of county residents counted as unemployed fell by nearly a 1,000 over the year to 3,834, and the number with jobs grew by 348 to 39,535. The labor force also declined by about 650 to 43,716.

The slight improvement in DHS recipient totals is not showing up in improved conditions for those seeking low-income housing in the county, Kelly said.

“Good, affordable housing and people being able to afford their utilities are the greatest needs not being met,” Kelly said.

Fewer resources are available to meet those needs, said Kristine Henson-Jones, executive director of Lenawee Emergency and Affordable Housing Corp., which began using the name Housing Help of Lenawee on Friday.

She agreed with Kelly there is no indication of low-income residents leaving the county.

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, she said, Housing Help of Lenawee assisted 230 families compared to 434 the previous fiscal year. But that was because funding from state and federal sources for rent and mortgage assistance declined from $256,000 to $109,000 last year, she said.

While 230 families were helped last year, Henson-Jones said, there were 739 families, representing nearly 2,000 people, asking for assistance.

Demand for food and utility assistance from the Salvation Army chapter in Lenawee County is growing, said business manager Kim Davis. The Salvation Army’s emergency food pantry and its fresh food program each served 15 percent more people in 2012 than the year before, Davis said.

Utility assistance was down last year, she said, but only because there was less grant funding available.

Also, donations to the Salvation Army’s Christmas kettle drive dropped from $276,000 in 2011 to $224,000 last year.

“The need is still great in Lenawee County,” Davis said.

Page 2 of 2 - While DHS recipient totals in the county are receding from peak numbers during the recession, they are still significantly higher than four years ago.

The total number of DHS recipients was reported at 18,136 in December 2008, more than 4,200 fewer than in December 2012. Food assistance was provided to 11,792 in December 2008 compared to 15,921 in December 2012. And the total of Medicaid-eligible residents is nearly 3,000 more than the 15,099 reported in December 2008.

An estimated 44,197 county workers had jobs in 2008, or 4,662 more than in 2012.